Method of making axle spindles



Feb. 6, 1945.

C. L. WILBER METHOD OF MAKING AXLE SPINDLES Filed Jan. 25, 1940 2 Shets-Sheet I 1 l I I 1 6 C'ar/ L. h i/ber Feb. 6, 1.945. MLBER I 2,368,695

METHOD OF MAKING AXLE SPI N DL ES v Filed Jan. 25, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3mm Carl L W? [her MM 4 v application constitutes I "aidivision -cation. H V In the welding 'oisabuttingqse'ctions; .or generally tuhular shspe, iteisd'requisitea iortiproper weld- 1 ing thatrwall' ithickness.:oi'.'the-abutting1 sections at the point sot-"welding be-"uniior-r'n. J la oonm'rnrnonrorrmsme'sxm z-srmnnns' son-m. wnser,,--newbie-Mien; assig'nor 2 to, The "TimkeneDe-troitAirle Germany;-Deti'oit, Mich, neorporntionrolOhio I .flriginal-applicationlkcember 29;1936; Sal-mm. 111L168;now ratentr'hloi 2,204,287, dated June 11, 2 I940; Divided .a'ndthis application =January -.zssisiogsemrm.115,612

--. Claims; (circa-153.1)

Thisinvention:relater-msmethodsoiand an V paratusiioremaking certaintcpsrtsoi axle h'ousings oflthe-type-used-zto supportthe rear-wheels;

the axle and spring seat' of the construction shown in Figure 1.

ornnautomotivewehicle;and to house. the -usuaidifferential; mechanism-z -flnd' drivi 's axles throughr. which xpowercistransmittedjto. the.

wheels.

invention adealsawith-tmethods .oi -"andl spparatusiiorproducing "the: novel, axlespindle construction disclosed. and 'iclaime'd fin i'my co- December 29,- 1936, i ioreAx-lefhouslng, and this oi that; appli '10 pending applicationaserialiiNog= 1l8;l66, filed.

structingithe honsingbody oi' thew axle assembly disclosed 'in my:sforesaidicoemding' application little .dim'culty lee-experienced. However, in: the

ot the spindle ,a portions ':or "the spider.

'elements-aoirthat application; which are "-to .be welded to theihousin'gibodyp grest-vcare must be g excrcised'rto: insurenznthsti' the's tubular' extensions 4 "o! ithe spindle portions rarer-of uniform wall 1 the abutting sections: are round-a.- i'aircdegree-aotnccuracy "and: uniiormity ot wsllithickness csnabe-obtsinedzxwith the usual responding ,zportionsnot fthe housing z is: in-- lured, regardless eoi thenhapef oti thebe-aportions.

A1further object'r isntoPvprovideeunovel punch": and die apparatus embodying means 'f-ior race *curat'elr maintaining: theurqim-angular relation ship theyundergozrelatweaxislwmovement.

Figure '3 is a top view oi a portion oi a modi- 'nedform oin axle' housing assembly. embodying 5 1' a spindle constructed in accordance with the method and apparatus of this invention.

Figures 4-11 are schematic} viewsshowing several steps employed in my'novel method of forging the'spindle or brakespider element and also showing the novel apparatus used in the process; Figures 4, 6, 8 and 10 showing, the actual forging steps, while Figures 5, 7,9 and 11 are end viewsoi the 'blankvinits several stages-cit manufacture.

With continued reference. to the drawings,

wherein like reference characters are employed to designate the same elements wherever, they 7 occur; andwith particular reference to figures 1 and2, which show the novel spindle and hous- :ing bodywhich go' to make-up the novel-axle assembly oi my aforementioned copending apwhich'insures sbsolutemniiormity oi wallathickness 'ithrous'houtrtheiorginggoperation i to: insure in= the absolute euniiormity wolf-wail resulting obJectsEL- apparent from g the following specification-rand ithe :accompanyin'g drawings; andlirolngthe 'appended claims; isms-1mm}. v Figure-1 i isinfop' m -pf snaaxle housingema 181M 'madeingaccordance with y I the invention andf'with' in sectionto zshowv the interior rconstruetiomthereoi, and

with one-iendrbrokemame; I v p v m "52.11 sectional taken through wsection' :byscrews 20.

bers li-shapedjandrelded together.

Figure *1, 1 these bearing members (not plication, the bodysection-i carries axle shifts.

is and is made up oi apair olopposedchannellike; members M which are bowed at their mid-sections to provide-an enlargement orban-jo 'lopentst both front and rear. The banjo is 'closedat the rear by a cover-ll. A: gearamount 1a,. carryingvaipinion shalt" I! and a: bevel vgear shoe adjusting screw ,is securcdto the banjo The channel-like =memtheir 'meeting'odges' has i in my" storementioned application.

The housing assembly" is symmetrical about a transverse vertical plane to'the-center oi' the dban'jo" section and the disclosure and description' is therefore limited :to one side thereof, it"

being understood that the other side is in all respects identical thereto.-

.' End-sections 2|, which extend; from cach -side oi the banjo section, are of uniiormsectionadseen in Figure-2 A spring iacent: their outer ends, as are or generally rectangular shape. seat ll is'secured to the outer end of each oi {the extended portions" by welding at N. The wheel spindle or brake-spider element 28 120119 sists of" a wheel supporting section it, a tubular portion ,raclially extending flange I4, and an 1 axially directed tubular flange IO.

v Flange" is rectangular inshapeiand it is also 01 the samedimensions as therectangular shaped end portion 28, so that the two exactly match when; brought into abutting relationship. In

abutting edges are shown buttwelded-tosether at II.

When the structure is mounted in the vehicle. shown) are secured to wheel portion 30, and a brake operating mechanism is secured to flange 34 by bolt and nut assemblies extending through holes ll.

3 In the fabrication of an axle housing assembly, the body section '2 is first formed by .welding the two channel members4-4 together.

Next, the spindle or spider elements 28 are buttwelded to the ends of the portions 26-26 of the housing assembly, preferably by electric welding,

and lastly the drive axles and differential mechanism and the cover member H are 'assembled. The spring clips 42 are preferably welded to the housing just prior to the weldingof the spindle elements 28-28 to the body section. The careful matching of the abutting sections of the spindle 28 and housing section 26, both as to shape and wall thickness, makes it possible to obtain a very strong weld at this point, thus doing away with extra metal at the Joint.

In Figure 3, I have shown the spindle of slightly different shape secured to a housing 26cc! somewhat modified iorm.' In this construction, a body section '2a. which is composed of two channel members welded together in the same manner as section 2, has end portions 28a-28a which are cept ror novel punch nd idle; elements hereafter described, is usedthroughoutthis entire process. Next, the blank is placed in die 54 and further upset or shaped to the form 3-2, Figure 6, by the tool 56 operated-by a means, not shown, keyed to the tool at 55. At this stage the enlarged end of the blank B- 2 is rectangular in cross-section as shown by Figure 7, which is an end elevation of the blank looking towards the said enlarged end. After the first step the enlarged end is conical as'will be seen from Figure 5 an end eleof rectangular cross-section for substantially their entire extent. However, immediately adiacent the outer end of portion 26a. the rectangular section is necked down to a circular section 26b.' The axially extending flange 36a of spindle element-28a is likewise of circular section, and exactly matches the end section of portion 26a. This exact matching is required for the obtaining of a good'weld at point 88a, where'the two elements are jointed by butt-welding in the same. manneras. elements 26 and 28 of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2.

. of the tubular section. This requirement results from the fact that an even heating of the metal is necessary to obtain a good weld, and since these sections are butt -welded any variation in the thickness of the metal will be reflected as uneven heating.

This condition is obtained without great difliculty in the housing member sections 26 by controlling the size and shape of the dies used'in stamping the channel-like members 4-4. However, a real problemis presented in forming the tubular flange 86 of the spider or spindle element 28 to the desired shape and size, especially as the same is of rectangular shape as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and this invention provides a novel method and means to forge the spindle element and obtain this desired result.

Referring now to Figures 4 to 11, the method and apparatus for carrying it out are disclosed.

The forging process is carried out in a series of steps illustrated in Figures 4, 6, 8 and 10 and is as follows: Starting with a piece of round bar stock the same is first upset to the cone-shape B-l, Figure 4. by means or the die 58 and the upsetting tool 52 operated by a means, not shown, keyed to thetool 52 and 5|. It will be understood that in this step, as in those following, a suitmovement of the blank in the exterior die memaible stop means is employed to prevent axial vation of the blank B-I.

In the'third step, a combined punching and shaping process is carried out by means of die' 58 and punch 68. In thisstep, the. flange 84 is'partially formed and the tubular flange 86.

initially shaped, also the tubular portion 82 and wheel bearing section 88 begin to take shape.

Figure 8'shows this step while Figure 9' shows an end elevation of the blank IB 8. It is very important at this stage of the process that'the walls of the extension 86 be of uniform thickness throughout the .entire periphery thereof. result is obtained by exactly positioning the leading end 6 2 of the punch 68 in proper angular relationship with the die 68. The portion 64 of die 58 is rectangular in .shape and the leading end 62 is of similar shape but slightly smaller in size to produce the tubular section 36. It is obvious that, if the punch 88 rotates, even a slight amount, with respect to die 68, a tubular section of uniform wall thickness will not be obtained. To obviate such rotation, the shank 66 of punch 68 is provided with a'key of pin member 68 which is received-in a recess in the punch operating means, not shown, but which is also keyed to the punch at keyway 65. The punch operating means is held against rotation with respect to the die '58; and, by suitably correlating the pin so with respect to the leading end 62 and the rectangular portion 64 of the die 58, the proper angular relationship between the leading end and the die is absolutely maintained and uniformity in the wall thickness of the "tubular flange 86 results. v

In the final step'oi combined extruding, shap'in'gand punching process is carried out as illustrated in Figure 10;

Figure 11' showing an end-elevation of the fln-- ished blank 3-4. A die 18 is shaped to ive the proper exterior rough shape to-the portions 88, 82 and a side and edge of the flange 84 of the spider element, while a punch 12 continues the punching .process of the former step.- Carried by the shankof punch 12 is a movable die-or ring member 18. In operation the punch operating means, not shown. abuts the outer end of the die 18 and is provided with a pin snugly fitting in the recess 84. This operating means is also keyed to the-shank 12 at the keyway 86. As the operating means cannot rotate with respect to the die 18, it will be seen that the punch 12,

ring 18 and die 18 are all maintained in fixed an ular relationship.

The portion 14 of the leading end of punch '12 is ta ering and of circular section to form the tubular section 82. while the portion 18 is of rectangular shape and cooperates with portion 82 of the movable die 18, which isalso of rectangular shape, to finish the tubular portion 88. The end 88 of movable die 18 finishes the i'ront face of flange 84. In this last step, the linear extent of flange 88 is decreasedwhile the radial extent of the flange 84 is increasedand extruded her. A forging machine that is conventional, exbetween the die 18 and end 88 of die 18. Arib This,

my improved process, a

. aseaeca 3 15, on punch 12, determines the finished length of the flange 36. Since the rectangular portion 16 is held during these steps in proper angular relation to the portion 82 of die 18, absolute uni-v formity in the wallthickness of flange 35 is assured, even though the, whole punch and die assembly 12-16 does move slightly with respect to die' 10. The flange 36 1s readily formed bescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. The method of forging a wheel spindle element comprising a radial flange and an axial tween the opposed-surfaces 16 and I2. The real problem is to hold these surfaces in proper position, and this is simply "done when accomplished as-above described. :The nature of this'last step is such as to remove any inaccuracies of the preceding step where the punch 60 may possibly move out of exact alignment with the die 58, or possibly rotate slightly withrespect thereto. An added advantage of the combined punch and die set up used in this last step resides in the fact that when the die II becomes worn it'may be readily removed from the punch "and replaced by a new die.

tubular flange adjacent to said first named flange,

including the; following steps, upsetting a cylindrical billet in a direction parallel to its axis to form an' enlarged end portion, pressing said enlarged end portion to a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the external shape of said axial flange, punchinga similarly shaped recess in said enlarged portion to preform said axial flange and extruding a ridge of metal thereon for said radial flange, and flnally further extruding said ridge of metal between relatively movable punch and If desired, the last step may be carried out in die elements to finish-form said radial flange while at the same time pressing said preformed axial flange to finished shape between the relatively flxed opposed surfaces of a combined punch and die elements.

and movable die, it is possible to economically produce the spider element 28 with a minimum sures absolute uniformity of all thickness in the tubular flange which is to be joined to the housing section by butt-welding. It will' be understood that portions of the blank Bl are suitably machined to the finished shape, as shown in Figure 1,

subsequent to the last forging step above described. However, no machining is required on the flange 38 which is flnlshedto size in the last forging step.

It will also be evident that my improved process and apparatus, while especially adapted to the production of spindle elements wherein the end flange is of rectangular section causing great dif flculty in the regulation of wall thickness thereof.

may be used in the production of spider elements of the type shown in Figure -3, and having end flanges 36a of circular section. In this event, the' nessand the same will also be produced by misalignment of punch and die. These are all removed by the flnal step of my process as above explained. Hence, it is seen that my improved process and punch and die assembly have great utility in the formation of end flanges of any desired shape where uniformity of wall thickness 7 is essential. v

The invention may be embodied in other speciflc forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered, in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the r appended claims rather than by the foregoing denumber of steps and with a flnal step which as- I 2. The method of forging a wheel spindle element comprising a radial flange and an axialtubular flange adjacent said first-named flange,

comprising the followingsteps, upsetting a cylindrical billet in a direction parallel to its axis to form an enlarged end portion; pressing said enlarged end portion to a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the external shape of said tubular flange; punching a similarly shaped recess in said enlarged portion to preform the interior'of said tubular flange and simultaneously extruding a ridge of metal thereon for said radial flange; and flnally further extruding said ridge of metal to materially increase the diameter thereof and flnish-form said radial flange, while at the same time axially pressing said preformed tubular flange to materially decrease its axial length and bring it to flnish shape and to form an accurate shaped radial end face thereon. v 3. A method of forming an elongated wheel spindle having a radial flange intermediate its ends and an axially extending tubular flange of non-circular cross-section merging into said radial flange, the internal and'external walls of said tubular flange being of exactly similar shape and disposed parallel to each other, including the following steps: upsetting one end of'an elongated billet to'form an enlarged solid end thereon of non-circular cross-sectional shape corresponding to the desired external shape of said tubular flange; die pressing said billet to gather a ridge simultaneously bringingv the external and intere nal walls of said tubular flange to finish shape while exerting transverse confining forces'upon said internal and external walls and so controlline the flow of metal as to maintain them in absolute parallelism. I

4. The method deflned in claim 3, wherein said flnal step also comprises materially decreasing 1 the axial length'of said tubular flange while exerting transverse conflning forces upon both the external and internal walls thereof and maintaining them in absolute parallelism.

CARL L. wnissa.

CERTIFICATE oF-consEfcwl'om' I t 7 Patent no. 2,568,695. j I r bm ,11 9%.

"CARLIL. wII ER It is hereby certified that erzvor-apparbffin "the printed zsp qc if idatipiif" of the above nunbere'd patent'requiringlnonreqtion asfo'llows: PR age 5, g's'ecbnd column, line 16, claim 1,, bef'fore' ,"exfimiding 1nser.t--- simultanevouly-j I and that the said Let taps a-hm '-Qhbuldrbewgad"w'itlifbhjgscorrpii'is on"there-" in that the same may conform in: ithe recrord; oi zt he xc-as 21inJtheJPatent 0f I Signed and sealed mislllatn day prime, 11-11. 11-915. 7

- I "Lesilii-e r'razer' (Seal) Ad-ting vCm nniisv'stoher :0: Patents r 

